When a Stranger Calls (1979)

• Directed by Fred Walton
• Written by Steve Feke, Fred Walton
• Stars Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurts, Tony Beckley
• Run Time: 1 Hour, 37 Minutes
• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oC4QJtPMH0

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

This surprised us because we knew about the classic reveal in this, and we thought that’s all there was to it. There’s practically a whole movie to go after that where all kinds of craziness continues. This was a sandwich of good stuff at the start and ending with a long stretch in the middle that’s kind of a slow paced detective story. It was pretty good overall, low key on horror.

Synopsis

Jill Johnson walks through the neighborhood after dark. Dr. Mandrakis opens the door; Jill is here to babysit for their child. She talks to her friend Nancy on the phone, and she asks Nancy to give Bobby the number there. 

A while later, she gets a hang-up call. A second call asks, “Have you checked the children?” She hears a noise in the kitchen, but it’s just the ice maker. The phone rings one more time, and he asks the same question again. She thinks it’s Bobby pranking her, but the voice doesn’t respond to that. Does she check on the children? No, she has a drink instead. 

Jill calls the restaurant where Dr. Mandrakis is having dinner, but he’s already left. Next, she calls the police and talks to Sgt Sacker. Since the guy hasn’t made any threats, the cops don’t take it too seriously. The man calls back and asks, “Why haven’t you checked the children?” Does she check the children? 

Almost. She starts going up the steps when the phone rings again. She calls the police, and they offer to trace the call if he calls back. When he calls back again, she tries to keep him on the line so the trace will go through. This time he gets pretty graphic in what he wants to do with her. 

The policeman calls back. “The call is coming from inside the house. Get outside right now!” She looks upstairs and sees someone up there. She opens the front door and sees a scary man standing there; he’s John Clifford, a detective. 

The police officer tells Clifford that the children were upstairs, dead. They caught the guy who did it. Jill survived, but she’s traumatized. 

Seven years later, Detective Clifford goes to see Dr. Mandrakis. “Have you heard about Curt Duncan’s escape? Do you think the police will find him?” Clifford’s a P.I. now, and Mandrakis wants Curt, the murderer, found. 

Clifford questions the doctor in charge of the asylum that Curt Duncan escaped from.  She plays a tape of Duncan, and yeah, he’s all kinds of crazy. 

We cut to a bar where Curt Duncan talks to a woman there named Tracy. He’s weird, and the woman’s not interested. He’s persistent to the point of being annoying. He gets into a fight, and some guy beats him up pretty badly. The woman goes home, and Curt follows her. He forces his way into her apartment, and she’s friendly at first, but things take a turn when he gets creepier and creepier. Eventually he leaves and tries to come back, but she’s locked her door. 

Clifford makes calls and researches the files. Meanwhile, Curt wanders around town, hanging with the homeless. He pays a visit to Tracy, the woman Curt was with last night. 

Clifford tells his cop friend that he wants to kill Curt to make sure it never happens again. “Do it good,” Charlie warns. 

Tracy goes back to the same bar, hoping to run into Curt again, and we see that Clifford is following her. She doesn’t spot Curt and eventually goes home. We see that Curt is… inside the house again. 

Curt jumps out and grabs her. “I want you to be my friend, OK?” She screams, and Clifford pursues him, but Curt gets away. 

Later, Curt looks at himself in a mirror and remembers all the things he’s done; he breaks down crying. One of the homeless men spots Curt and tells Clifford where to find him. Clifford checks out the men in the shelter, but Curt spots him first. 

Clifford follows Curt to an old warehouse, but that soon devolves into a foot chase, and Curt escapes again. 

We cut back to a big house. Former babysitter Jill is inside with her own two children. Her husband calls to say he’s taking her out to dinner tonight. Sharon is the babysitter for her kids. The whole scene is very similar to the opening. 

Jill gets a phone call at the restaurant, “Have you checked the children?” She freaks out and starts screaming. Husband Steven calls Sharon, but she says everything is fine. The police come to see what all the screaming is about, and then the phone line goes dead. 

The police race to Jill’s house, where the children are fine. Everything is fine, and Sharon knows nothing about any problems. 

Jill’s not satisfied when the police all leave. Steven’s got a gun. Meanwhile, Detective Charlie hears about Jill’s call and lets Clifford know about it. Clifford tries to call Jill, but the phone has been– disconnected. 

At Jill’s house, the power goes out, and she checks out the kids. Is there someone in the closet? No. She looks in her bed, and there’s Curt laying next to her, who starts raving and screaming– until Clifford comes in shooting. Steven’s unconscious in the closet, but everyone is all right otherwise. 

Commentary

Carol Kane was 27 years old here, playing a teenager. We both knew about the call coming from inside the house, but what we didn’t realize was that it was just the opening scene! 

On the other hand, after that introductory scene, we get an hour and a half of detective movie with Charles Durning as a grouchy P.I. hunting the killer. Up until the last twenty minutes, the rest of the film is decidedly more “crime thriller” than horror. 

The beginning and the ending were good, but the middle was pretty dull.